The present invention relates to a system and method of setup of a media-playing set and relates, in particular, to a system and method for providing personalized assistance to geographically distributed users with setup of their respective media-playing sets.
As technology has progressed, media-playing sets have become ever more versatile in terms of configuration, signal reception, functions provided, and compatibility with related peripherals. For example, one type of media-playing set, the television, was originally designed as a standalone unit receiving a handful of air broadcast channels and having a few basic controls, such as a channel selector and an on/off knob turnable for volume adjustment. In contrast, a modern television set can typically process signals from a variety of peripherals, such as a personal computer, videocassette recorder, digital video disc recorder, compact disc player, or stereo, and can accept signals from a variety of external sources, including air broadcast, cable, and satellite. The number of channels or programs received can number into the hundreds. Also, an on-screen control menu is typically employed for adjusting different aspects of the picture, sound, and other operational features so that these features can be better adapted to the various media and program formats available. Moreover, hybrid forms have appeared including televisions able to process digitized signals, such as in MPEG-2 or -4 format, and computers or miniplayers able to process television or other media broadcasts via a tuner card or through upstream conversion of the media signal to digitized format.
Because of the many options available in configuring a modern media-playing set, users can encounter difficulties while performing setup tasks such as connecting peripherals, programming the remote, configuring the set to receive the desired channels, adjusting picture and sound, subscribing to commercial services, and so on. Providing the user with a clear instruction manual is a significant help; however, the user may lose or misplace the manual or simply not have the time or patience to read through the entire manual in order to find the section that pertains to the user's question. To provide users another avenue for obtaining help, many manufacturers contract with or maintain call centers where users can call in and address their questions to a live customer service representative. However, as the duration and volume of calls increases, costs for staffing the call center can increase significantly, so it is desirable that another help option be available for guiding the user through procedures connected with routine setup. Moreover, because the customer service staff is under pressure to complete each call in the minimum amount of time, the user may have to call more than once to obtain the information needed to personalize setup to any significant extent. This is particularly so where efficient communication between the user and customer service representative is hampered by educational or language barriers.
Accordingly, certain objects of the present invention include providing a system and method for providing personalized assistance to users with setup of their respective media-playing sets in a manner that is more efficient, more convenient, more effective, and less expensive than previously available.